


Serpent's Game

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-06
Updated: 2007-04-06
Packaged: 2019-01-19 03:31:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12402189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: It's Hermione's seventh and final year at Hogwarts--what new obstacles and events are coming her way? She knows Draco Malfoy, her sworn enemy, has left the school, due to the events of the previous year. Yet she's not sure he's completely gone...





	Serpent's Game

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all aspects of the Harry Potter universe, not me. 

*** 

_All was dark. I could hear water dripping, the sound echoing off the dank walls. My breathing was shallow as if I were expecting something, or someone. And then an icy hand gripped my forearm, making me scream and recoil. I didn’t really scream, though; no sound came out. There was a suffocating feeling, and I could make out the pale, pointed face of someone who looked so familiar…_

 

“Hermione!”

 

I jerked awake, scaring Crookshanks from my lap. “What? What is it?” I wiped the sweat from my forehead, my heart beating at a faster rate than normal. Glancing out the Hogwarts Express window, I saw the scenery whizzing past.

 

From his seat beside me, Ron gave me a grim look. “Are you okay?” He offered me a chocolate frog, but I shook my head; he stuffed it into his mouth, not looking the least bit sorry that I’d refused his offer. “You looked like you were having a nightmare or something. Sort of like how Harry goes; but you looked more mental, if you ask me—“

 

Harry scoffed.

 

“Oh, shut up, Ron,” I groaned, pressing my hands against my eyes. “I’m fine.” _I’m fine. Really. Or am I?_

 

Peering at me, Harry asked, “Are you sure? You’re not getting—odd dreams, are you?”

 

Pursing my lips, I retorted, “Of course not.” I bit my lip. “Well…they may be a bit…dark, but that’s to be expected, with my constant worrying about what’s to happen…” A lump formed in my throat. Our seventh year at Hogwarts gave me a sense of foreboding.

 

Harry’s features softened. “Don’t worry now, ‘Mione.” Though his voice struggled to remain confident, I knew it was just one of his many facades.

 

Retreating back to my thoughts, I found that I could not rid the image of the pale face from my dream. I knew who it was. Of course, it was typical to have dreams about what one had thought about before drifting to sleep. No, I had not been thinking about Draco Malfoy in any fond way possible. I was simply racking my brain to find out what could have hindered him from killing Professor Dumbledore, where he went—

 

“That reminds me,” Harry declared as Ron chewed away on some Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, “Malfoy isn’t coming back to the school.” He smiled—smirked would have been the better word of the two.

 

“He’s not?” I blurted, leaning forward in my seat slightly. But then I slapped myself mentally. Of course he wouldn’t return, not after his attempted murder and him being a new death eater. What was I thinking?

 

Shooting my a wry glance, Ron inquired, “Why would you care, ‘Mione?” For once he had stopped munching.

 

“No reason,” I told him hastily, arranging my mouth into a line to signal that this conversation was closed. When he and Harry were not looking, I shuddered. If anything, Draco Malfoy not being at Hogwarts should have prompted an ecstatic feeling, knowing that he couldn’t reach me. Then why did the knowledge his nonexistence turn my fingers cold as ice?

*

 

Our footsteps echoed through the Hogwarts corridors the first night back at school as Ron and I patrolled. As the newly appointed Head Boy and Head Girl, it was our job to enforce the new security regulations. No one was to go anywhere alone—not even professors. I found my mind wandering back to earlier today. It had been weird, even eerie, not seeing Dumbledore’s smile behind those half-moon glasses. At the opening feast, Malfoy did not appear. I had heard from several others besides Harry that the Slytherin snob wasn’t coming back.

“Bit cold tonight, isn’t it?” Ron said, hands crammed inside his robe pockets; I had more than a reasonable estimate that he was clutching his wand.

Nodding absentmindedly, I scanned the hallways. No one was out, yet the dense silence seemed so loud. When we trod on certain places, our footsteps echoed in a million places. Patrolling at night was irksome indeed.

Glancing at me, Ron commented, “You look kind of cold.” A hand was inching out of his pocket.

“Well, uh, yes…you said it was cold yourself,” I stammered. Our footfalls slowed on the stone. He slipped an arm around my waist (very clumsily, but I couldn’t expect much smoothness from Ron— nevertheless, that was one thing I loved about him). Offering me a slight smile, he eyed me curiously in the faint light from the moon. 

Suddenly I was very aware of how warm my cheeks felt and was thankful for the cover of darkness. “You know, we should be doing our duties,” I whispered, but let him turn me around so we were face to face. 

He snorted. “You think too much about rules, ‘Mione.” Even with the minimal lighting, I could discern the redness of his hair. It seemed even brighter than before. “You know, I don’t think going off the duty for one minute will make a big difference,” he murmured with a hint of exasperation, though I knew he wasn’t angry.

Heart hammering in my chest, I responded (letting the reluctance in my voice show heavily), “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt…” We had only shared one kiss before—this summer—and the old feeling was edging its way into me again. 

Ron grinned. “I’m glad you don’t object too much.” He dipped his head down to mine, letting a hand run through my hair. I almost feel this mouth on mine when—

Tap. Tap. Tap. The sharp sound of footsteps reached our ears. I spun around, wand drawn. There was only one set of footsteps, which meant that this individual was either disobeying school regulations or not from Hogwarts altogether. My hands began to feel clammy. Beside me, Ron had unsheathed his wand as well.

“Who’s there?” I called, trying to control my voice in vain. There was no answer.

Then I saw it. The flash of platinum blonde hair. I’m sure Ron didn’t see anything, because when I let out a gasp, he asked, “What? What is it, ‘Mione?” 

My eyes searched the darkness for Malfoy again. He’d vanished. “Nothing. Just a trick of the light.” I was aware of how high-pitched my voice had become.

Ron glanced at a clock nearby. “Our patrolling time is over. Let’s get back to the common room.” Wand still out, he grabbed my hand and we half-walked, half-trotted to Gryffindor Tower. The whole way back, I could not stop thinking about what—or who—I saw. Was it possible that he was here? My dream flashed before my eyes. Him being here did not bode well.

 


End file.
